Day 64
Wednesday
5 September
Tom Price – Millstream and Chichester National Park
Knowing that we had a bit of a trek ahead of ourselves, we were up and ready fairly early and in the car, ready to drive out to the Millstream Chichester National Park. The initial 30km on public road is easy, but once you turn on to the Rio Tinto Rail Access road it becomes dirt.
We motored along, lights on, sticking to the 80km speed limit, following the train line. Our first rail crossing was met with a long ore train, with 3 locomotives to pull it. We calculated that the train was about 2.5km in length. There was not much we could do, but sit and wait for the thing to pass. I got out took some photos and about 10min later the flashing lights and dings disappeared and we were given free passage.
The access road varied in its level of surface. Much of the time it was powdered with fine gravel, but there were times when it was heavily corrugated and we felt every bump. For a business reaping the rewards of the earth, it could sure put some money into bitumenising the road.
There were times the car bottomed out, having such low clearance, the bang sending us into orbit. At other times the wind rows were so tall that we scooped up the small stones, having them pepper the chassis like a Chicago gangland drive-by shooting. All the while the little car powered on never doubting itself, unlike its occupants.
At 10.30am, we had finally made it to Millstream and we parked up at the Millstream Homestead, eager to get out, stretch and calm down. We walked around the old home and checked out the contents of the rooms. A chair had been made out of the trunk of an old palm, which I thought was quite ingenious.
From the homestead, we followed the wetlands trail, a real oasis in the bush. Massive palm trees shot up from the ground and clear water trickled through small streams. We wound our way through the green undergrowth, until we reached Jirndawurraunha Pool. Here lily pads spread out over the clear blue water. It reminded me of Bitter Springs in the NT. Paul checked the temperature of the water, it was warm.
We returned to the car, ready to tackle the next stretch. First up, we had to return via the same entrance road. We pulled in at the Cliff Lookout, where we had a good view over Deep Reach Pool, a long stretch of water formed by the Fortescue River and then we moved on to the parking area of the pool, to take a closer look.
We followed the path to a viewing deck and then on to the entry point to the pool. I stood on the step submerged in the water. It was quite pleasant. Lots of little fish swam close to the edge, darting in and out of the sunlight.
We wandered back to the car, happy to head on to our next spot, Python Pool within the Chichester Range. We drove back out of Millstream National Park and continued on up the road for a further 40 odd k’s. Paul was watching the fuel consumption, seeing we were at half a tank and 260km in. He began to wonder if we had the fuel to get home. How much did the Getz hold?
We wound our way through the hills of the range, thankfully the road was once again bitumen and somewhat easier to navigate. We pulled into the carpark, grabbed our lunch bag and walked through the bush to Python Pool. A large, knobbly rock face shot out of the ground and at its base a glistening green pool beckoned. It wasn’t quite peaceful, as four young tourists were enjoying the spot, with the radio blaring.
I stood in the water, enjoying the cool down, while Paul stood around talking to the two blokes, one was busy having fun catching little fish. I put lunch together and we ate, both of us quite hungry. We took in the view of yet another magic spot, before Paul declared we needed to hit the road, as it would be a bit of a trek getting back.
We made our way back to the car and then began the wind back up the hills and dales. We stopped at various viewing spots along the way, where we enjoyed the vista of the expanse of valley below. I also loved the smoke bush lining the road and the golden hue across the landscape.
Once out of the Chichester Range, we returned to the access road, ready to tackle the gravel once more. With the knowledge of the road, we knew where the problems would be and we could prepare for them, but we seemed to find more areas of large wind rows and when we reached dips, the car tended to ricochet off the flat rock at the bottom with an all mighty crash. It had us concerned that we might not make it back in one piece.
We didn’t feel the need for a 4WD during our 12month trip last year. We never felt like we missed out on anything, had to forgo an activity or sat back after a day out saying that was a rough drive on the Getz, but WA is a different story. There have been places missed because we don’t have the right vehicle. We have pushed the car to its limits and amazed at its abilities to go places it really shouldn’t. Realistically, if we were to do this again, we would need to be towing a small 4WD. It would certainly keep our nerves in check.
As it turned out, we made it home safely and with enough fuel. After stopping to refuel, we returned to the van keen to take stock of the trip and just relax for the remainder of the afternoon. That was a journey and a half, 500km and 8 hours. The pedometer was telling me I did 16000 steps in that time, Ha ha. It tells me it was a bumpy bloody drive.
We flaked out for the remaining hours. I went through the photos with little enthusiasm and then made dinner. We ate, our eyelids heavy and it wasn’t long before we were crawling into bed to read and then sleep.
This map isn't quite accurate as we drove in a straight line from Mount Sheila to about where it says 9h 10min. Google wouldn't put in the rail access road.
No comments:
Post a Comment